DESCRIPTION: Program Characteristics: The ongoing goal of this program is to provide pre- and postdoctoral training of high quality for advanced students who wish to pursue careers as independent investigators in immunology and immunooncology. Emphasis in the program is placed on genetic, molecular, cell biological, and structural approaches to the solution of immunologic and immunooncologic problems. The predoctoral program operates within the guidelines of the Sue Golding Graduate School. The graduate school and training program provide a centralized admissions process, a core of basic courses followed by specialized courses in immunologically relevant areas supplemented with seminars and journal clubs, special work-in- progress sessions, laboratory meetings and extramural seminars, close supervision of students by the mentors and faculty advisor committees, and intensive work in the laboratory. Predoctoral trainees must be accepted by the graduate school and meet the requirements for the Ph.D. degree within their respective departments before they are nominated for positions in the training program. Trainers seeking support for a trainee submit a Curriculum Vitae and academic record to the Program Steering Committee. For postdoctoral trainees, a Curriculum Vitae, academic transcript, bibliography, description of the research project, and letters of recommendation must be submitted. This information is circulated among the members of the Steering Committee, which subsequently meets to review, discuss, and vote on the applicants. Consideration is given to the qualifications of the candidate as well as the proposed trainer, especially with respect to the size of the laboratory and available research support. Policies and procedures for coursework and qualifying examinations for the Ph.D. degree are defined by the graduate school and the participating departments. A series of laboratory rotations are used by the students to identify trainers with whom they propose to work. Applicants to the "Alternate Pathway of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP)" are also eligible for support from the training grant. These students enter the MSTP program after one or two years of medical school rather than by direct admission. The MSTP curriculum has been revised since the last competitive renewal to interdigitate more efficiently the graduate and medical courses. Postdoctoral trainees may hold either the M.D., the Ph.D., or both degrees. Many physicians applying for the clinical training program at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) interview with faculty mentors of this training program. At the time of recruitment and during the first year of each clinical fellowship, trainee research preferences are identified and explored by the Program Director, Division Heads, and trainees. Some are offered an opportunity to enter a multi-year program of research training in a basic science laboratory. Progress is assessed at six-month intervals by an Advisory Committee using traditional criteria. The fellows are expected to spend a minimum of two years in the laboratory. Postdoctoral fellows with the Ph.D. degree apply to and select laboratory mentors on an individual basis. Their progress is also reviewed by an Advisory Committee, and they participate in all training program presentations and seminars. Interaction among M.D., MSTP, and Ph.D. trainees is encouraged by the nature of the program organization, i.e. joint seminars, work-in-progress sessions, journal clubs, and like activities.